Networks argue that if their evening news shows were given more time, they would become more than animated headline services and could provide more depth and nuance. The argument has not been put to the test because the networks have been unable to persuade local affiliates to extend network news to 45 minutes or an hour. But what they do with the time already available does not favor their case. Their newscasts regularly sag, at about the two-thirds mark, into some forgettable feature. Why the evening's main story does not instead get...
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